UVA Professor Awarded

During its 2010 annual meeting, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) presented an award for extraordinary impact on the engineering profession to a University of Virginia professor. Anita Jones received the Arthur M. Bueche Award for leadership in the development of science and technology policy. The awards were presented at a ceremony on Oct. 3.

Anita Jones, a member of NAE and a University Professor Emerita in the computer science department at U.Va., received the Arthur M. Bueche Award for “leadership in the development of U.S. science and technology policy and the development of technologies for national security, including technical contributions to high-performance computing and cybersecurity.” She received $2,500 and a gold medallion.

Jones has served in volunteer and appointed roles for a number of bodies, many of which have important policy responsibilities. She was director of the Defense Department’s Defense Research and Engineering from 1993-97 and in this role was the key player in the development and protection of the science and technology budget for the Pentagon, successfully growing R&D programs at a time when the department’s overall budget was being reduced.

She was a member of the National Science Board from 1999 to 2004 and served as its vice chair for two years, was a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 1979 to 1984, served on the Defense Science Board numerous times, and was a member of the advisory council for the Policy and Global Affairs Division at the National Research Council from 1997 to 2006. In addition, she served on committees that authored two influential Research Council reports: Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future and Polar Icebreakers in a Changing World: An Assessment of U.S. Needs.

Jones was awarded the IEEE Founders Medal in 2007 and the Ada Lovelace Award from the Association of Women in Computing in 2004. In 2000 she was named a fellow at both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2010 she was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.

The National Academy of Engineering is a private, nonprofit institution that provides technology advice under a congressional charter. NAE also salutes leaders in engineering for their lifetime dedication to the field and their commitment to advancing society through great achievements. NAE dedicates more than $1 million annually to recognize these leaders and to bring better understanding of engineering’s importance to society. In addition to the Bueche award, NAE presents the Founders Award, Charles Stark Draper Prize, the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize and the Bernard M. Gordon Prize. For more information about these awards, contact Deborah Young, NAE awards administrator, at (202) 334-1266, or visit the NAE website at http://www.nae.edu/awards.